5.  The applicant was born in 1965 and lives in Makiyivka.
6.  On 13 January 2000 the applicant was arrested by police officers from the Makiyivka Police Department and taken to a police station, where he was kept in police custody until 25 January 2000. According to the applicant, during that time he had no access to a lawyer and was forced to confess to various crimes. The applicant claimed that during the interrogation he had been severely beaten on many occasions by the police officers, who had also made him suffocate and had applied electroshock to his genitals. According to the Government, the applicant had his procedural rights to legal representation and to freedom from self-incrimination explained to him and he signed a waiver of his right to legal representation. He was questioned about a car theft and confessed. He also confessed to being involved in a robbery.
7.  On 14 January 2000 the applicant had been brought to a hospital by an ambulance and the medical reports of that date confirmed abdominal trauma and bruise in the lumbar region received during the alleged beating by the police (see paragraph 37 below).
8.  On 15 January 2000 the investigator instituted criminal proceedings against the applicant for theft from a garage, theft of non-ferrous metals and attempted robbery.
9.  On 16 January 2000 the applicant was charged with the car theft. According to the Government, the applicant had his procedural rights to legal representation and to freedom from self-incrimination explained to him and he then signed a waiver of his right to legal representation. The applicant was questioned in respect of the car theft and he denied his guilt. He explained that he had not been aware that the other person involved had actually been stealing the car and claimed that he had previously confessed under duress from the police.
10.  On that date the applicant participated in an on-site reconstruction of events. An expert and two attesting witnesses also took part in that investigative action.
11.  The Government asserted that on 17 January 2000 the applicant had his procedural rights to legal representation and to freedom from self-incrimination explained to him again and that he then signed a waiver of his right to legal representation. The applicant was subsequently questioned and confessed to a theft from a garage, a theft of non-ferrous metals and a robbery. He again participated in an on-site reconstruction of events together with two attesting witnesses.
12.  On 18 January 2000 the applicant was additionally charged with the theft from a garage, the theft of non-ferrous metals and the robbery.
13.  On 19 January 2000, in the Government’s version of events, the applicant had his procedural rights to legal representation and to freedom from self-incrimination explained to him once again. The applicant waived his right to legal representation. The applicant was then questioned and pleaded guilty to the charges of 18 January 2000. He also participated in an on-site reconstruction of events together with two attesting witnesses. On the same date further criminal proceedings for theft of property were instituted against the applicant.
14.  On 25 January 2000 the applicant was transferred to the SIZO (see paragraph 38 below).
15.  On 29 February 2000 the investigator conducted a confrontation between the applicant and his co-accused, D. The applicant denied his guilt, while D. testified that the applicant had been the instigator of all the crimes. The applicant refused to sign a report of that investigative action. Being formally charged on all counts, the applicant refused to testify.
16.  On 2 March 2000 the applicant asked to be represented by lawyer M. He was questioned in presence of his lawyer and denied his guilt. In particular, he stated that the thefts had been committed by acquaintances and he had not been aware of them, and that although he had bought some goods from one of those acquaintances he had not known that those goods were stolen. As regards the robbery, he denied robbing the victim and claimed that he had happened to be in the victim’s yard by coincidence. The applicant also asserted that he had previously confessed under duress. The applicant then studied the case-file materials in the presence of his lawyer, M.
17.  On 13 March 2000 the applicant’s mother appointed lawyer I. to represent the applicant in court.
18.  The trial in the applicant’s case started on 17 March 2000. During the court hearings the applicant claimed that his confession had been extracted from him under duress, in particular that he had been beaten and ill-treated by the police who forced him to confess. He sought the examination of witnesses who could confirm his allegations of ill-treatment. In particular, on 2 June 2000 the applicant motioned the court to summon and question witnesses Ms U.G. and Ms U.A., who had allegedly heard the applicant screaming when he had been ill-treated at the police station. The motion was allowed and the above witnesses were questioned and testified that they had heard the applicant screaming and had seen him after the beatings. Furthermore, on 8 June 2000 the applicant motioned the court to summon and question the doctor who had been working in the ambulance when he was taken to hospital on 14 January 2000 (“the ambulance doctor”, see paragraph 37 below). This request was rejected. The court ordered a forensic medical examination of the applicant on the ground that no such examination had been conducted during the pre-trial investigation.
19.  In August 2000 the applicant was not brought to court as he was suffering from renal colic. The trial judge asked the head of the medical unit of the SIZO in which the applicant was detained to examine him and to inform the court whether he was fit to take part in court hearings.
20.  Between 10 and 26 September 2000 the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) visited Ukrainian detention facilities, including the SIZO in which the applicant was detained. According to the applicant he had meeting with the CPT experts and it was reflected in their Report (see paragraph 52 below).
21.  In September 2000 the SIZO administration informed the court that the applicant’s state of health was satisfactory, that he had received some outpatient treatment and that he could attend court and take part in court hearings.
22.  However, in October 2000 the head of the SIZO medical unit informed the court, without giving any details, that the applicant’s state of health was very poor, that he had been advised to stay in bed and therefore that he could not attend court and take part in court hearings.
23.  On 31 August 2001 the trial court enquired of the SIZO officials about the applicant’s state of health and his ability to participate in the proceedings. Documents submitted by the SIZO medical unit stated that the applicant could participate in court hearings and it was recommended to bring him to court on a stretcher, and the trial judge therefore directed the SIZO administration to arrange the applicant’s transportation to the court on a stretcher in order for the examination of his criminal case to be concluded.
24.  According to the Government, in October 2001 the applicant asked the court to arrange his transportation to the court in order for the examination of his case to resume.
25.  On 9 November 2001 lawyer N. assumed the applicant’s defence in place of lawyer I., who had died.
26.  On 5 December 2001 the judge asked the chief doctor of the ambulance station to arrange for the applicant’s transportation to the court in an ambulance and under the supervision of a doctor. According to the SIZO medical unit, the applicant was able to attend court and take part in court hearings but it was recommended that he be taken to court on a stretcher. According to medical data, the applicant suffered from serious neurological pain in the lower part of the spine and he could not walk or sit.
27.  On 21 December 2001 the applicant was transferred to the court by ambulance. The applicant was brought into the courtroom on a stretcher. A doctor was present throughout the hearing. The applicant was represented by lawyer N. According to the applicant, he did not feel well during the hearing and lost consciousness on several occasions. According to the Government, the applicant’s health was in a satisfactory state. They maintained that on that date the court completed the examination of the case file, completed the judicial investigation of the matter and went on to hear final pleadings from the parties, including from the applicant directly. According to a transcript of the hearing, the applicant took part in the final pleadings before the court and indicated his agreement with the termination of the judicial investigation of the matter. At the end of the hearing, the applicant was offered an opportunity to make a closing statement. Following his failure to take that opportunity, he was examined by the doctor, who attested that the applicant’s blood pressure was normal but that the applicant claimed that he did not feel well. The doctor concluded that the applicant’s health was satisfactory and that he could talk. When offered another opportunity to make a closing statement, the applicant did not reply. The Government also noted that the court had not examined any witnesses at that hearing and that the applicant and his lawyer had not asked for the hearing to be postponed on the grounds that the applicant could not take part due to his state of health.
28.  On the same day the court directed that arrangements be made for the applicant’s transfer to the court by ambulance for 25 December 2001.
29.  On 25 December 2001 the Gornyatskiy Local Court of Makiyivka found the applicant and several other individuals guilty of theft and robbery. The court established that on 14 May 1999 the applicant, M. and another person had stolen a car from S. In addition, on 30 October 1999 the applicant and his co-defendants M., St. and Mo. had stolen scrap metal from the garage of G.; on 17 and 20 December 1999 the applicant, M. and Mo. had stolen scrap metal and other property belonging to R. and N. and finally on 22 December 1999 the applicant and D. had attempted to rob Mr and Mrs P. The court noted that the applicant had pleaded not guilty. It considered that, apart from the applicant’s previous confessions, there were the testimony of his co-defendants, the victims, some of whom were eye-witnesses, and other witnesses in the case, as well as the material evidence, including part of the stolen goods found in the dwellings of the applicant’s mother and his cohabitant, which were sufficient evidence for finding the applicant guilty. It also rejected the applicant’s complaint of ill-treatment, referring to the investigation materials and medical conclusions and noting that the testimonies of Ms U.G. and Ms U.A. about having heard the applicant screaming at the police station would not be accepted, as they were not supported by other materials in the case and given the nature of their relations with the applicant [the applicant’s cohabitant and her mother]. The applicant was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.
30.  On 27 December 2001 the applicant was served with a copy of the judgment.
31.  On 2 and 7 January 2002 the applicant lodged appeals against the judgment of 25 December 2001.
32.  On 23 January 2002 the first-instance court left the applicant’s requests for appeal without examination because of a failure to comply with procedural formalities. It noted, in particular, that in his appeals the applicant had failed to indicate the judgment he was appealing against and to specify and substantiate his claims that the judgment had been unlawful. The applicant was given seven days to bring his appeals into compliance with procedural requirements.
33.  On 7 February 2002 the applicant lodged another appeal, which was also left without consideration by the first-instance court on 22 February 2002 on the grounds that the new statement of appeal merely complemented the original appeals and was not a corrected version of his appeal. Taking into account the applicant’s poor state of health, the applicant was provided with a further extension of time in which to resubmit his appeals in accordance with procedural formalities. The applicant submitted five more complementary statements of appeal, but to no avail.
34.  On 13 May 2002 the applicant lodged a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court. In his appeal he complained of having been tortured, of lack of access to a lawyer and of falsification of the documents in the case file by the investigators. He also complained that his cellmates had not been questioned as witnesses to his ill-treatment and that the judgment had been pronounced in his absence because his lawyer had convinced him to waive his right to be present at the last court hearing in his case. For the same reason, he had been deprived of the opportunity to lead arguments before the court and to make closing submissions.
35.  On 29 October 2002 a panel of three judges of the Supreme Court examined the applicant’s cassation appeal and concluded that the judgment of the first-instance court was well-founded. It also held that there had been no procedural violations and the applicant’s allegations of ill-treatment had been duly checked and rejected as unsubstantiated.
36.  According to the applicant, between 13 and 25 January 2000 he was kept in police detention facilities, where he was severely beaten many times by the police, who forced him to confess to theft and robbery. When arresting him, the police used teargas. Then he was tied up and kicked, punched and beaten with a stick. He was taken to the police station, where the officers placed a plastic bag and then a gasmask on his head, causing him to suffocate. He was also constantly beaten. Then police officers fixed electric wires to his penis and right hand and administered electric shocks.
37.  On 14 January 2000 an ambulance was called for the applicant who was in a state of weakness and was suffering from pain in the lumbar area and below his rib cage. The ambulance doctor examined the applicant, who explained that he had fallen down the stairs on 13 January and that he had been arrested by the police later the same day. The applicant was taken to hospital for more detailed examination. Medical reports of the same date by the hospital doctors recorded abdominal trauma and bruise in the lumbar region.
38.  The applicant was transferred to the SIZO on 25 January 2000. According to him, the doctor on duty saw the signs of his injuries but did not record them after a police officer spoke to him. Only some of his injuries were recorded and he was warned by the police to tell the doctor that those injuries were self-inflicted. The applicant claimed that he had never been allowed to stay alone with the doctor who examined him.
39.  On 14 March 2000 the applicant wrote a letter to a human rights NGO complaining of ill-treatment by the police.
40.  On 25 May 2000 the Makiyivka Town Prosecutor’s Office questioned the doctors and police officers concerned and refused to institute criminal proceedings concerning the alleged ill-treatment, considering that it could not be established beyond reasonable doubt that the applicant had been ill-treated by the police. It was also claimed in the refusal that, according to the police, the applicant had pretended to be ill as he planned to escape and had therefore wanted to be taken to hospital to facilitate his escape. According to the ambulance doctor who examined the applicant on 14 January 2000, the applicant had complained of pain in various parts of his body and had explained to the doctor that he had fallen down on 13 January 2000 prior to his arrest by the police. The doctor recorded the trauma of abdomen and numerous bruises, mainly in the lumbar area. He further recommended the applicant to have consultations with surgeon and urologist.
41.  On 8 June 2000 the trial court ordered a forensic medical examination of the applicant with a view to hearing his allegations of ill-treatment. The examination was conducted between 12 July and 2 August 2000. According to the findings of the examination, no injuries on the face and the scalp were detected. On the front of the neck there was a pinkish-purple mark measuring 2 x 1 cm (according to the applicant it was a birthmark). On the right wrist there was a pale brown mark measuring 1x0.5 cm. On the front surface of both forearms there were scars, 4 on the left and 9 on the right, measuring between 3x0.2 cm to 8x0.2 cm. The applicant complained about painfulness in the lumbar region on both sides and in the coccyx. The examination revealed in that part an area of pale brown skin measuring 15x10 cm. The examination further revealed several scars: a round scar with diameter of 2.3 cm on the back of the right thigh, several scars measuring 2.2x0.2 cm on the left buttock and a scar measuring 1x0.6 cm on the right knee. At a distance of 1 to 1.5 cm from the head of the penis there was a dotted-line of whitish skin measuring 0.1x2 cm. No other injuries or marks were found. The expert concluded that the brown marks on the applicant’s wrist and in the lumbar region and the coccyx could be signs of healing bruises which could have been inflicted on 13 January 2000 under the circumstances described by the applicant. As to the scars, the expert concluded that they were several years old but the exact time of their formation could not be established.
42.  On 2 August 2000 the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office quashed the decision of 25 May 2000 and ordered further investigation, having noted that the examination of the applicant’s complaint was incomplete.
43.  In August 2000 the police officers, doctors, the applicant’s cellmates in prison and a number of other people were questioned by the prosecutor. In particular, the ambulance doctor, who saw the applicant on 14 January 2000, had been additionally questioned. Some of the applicant’s cell-mates confirmed that the applicant had told them of being ill-treated by the police but had not given details; some others testified that the applicant had not spoken about being beaten by the police.
44.  On 7 September 2000 the Makiyivka Prosecutor’s Office refused to institute criminal proceedings for lack of proof of a crime. The refusal noted that there had been no proof that the applicant had been ill-treated and the evidence by the applicant’s cell-mates about the applicant’s ill-treatment had been contradictory and could not serve as a sufficient basis for the conclusion that the applicant had been ill-treated.
45.   In November 2000, upon the request of the applicant’s lawyer, the court ordered a forensic medical examination of the applicant. From 22 November 2000 until 18 May 2001 the applicant underwent a series of medical examinations. The experts noted that the applicant had numerous scars, some of which were more than ten years old. The experts also recorded brown pigmentations on his right wrist and penis, which the applicant claimed to be signs of the electric shocks used on him on 13 January 2000. The experts further concluded that there was no link between the applicant’s injuries in January 2000 and his subsequent health problems.
46.  In August 2003 the applicant was served with the copy of the decision of 7 September 2000 and he challenged it in court.
47.  On 6 November 2003 the Tsentralno-Miskyy District Court of Makiyivka quashed the decision of 7 September 2000 and remitted the case for additional investigation. The court noted that the file lacked a statement by the applicant about the circumstances of the alleged ill-treatment or information about his state of health upon his arrival at the SIZO and the prison in which he was detained. Furthermore, the applicant’s cellmates in the SIZO had not been questioned and the case file lacked information as to when and how the applicant’s injuries had been inflicted. Finally, the instructions of the higher prosecutor had not been fully complied with.
48.  On 20 May 2005 the applicant’s cellmates were questioned again by the prosecutor.
49.  On 15 June 2005 the prosecutor refused to institute criminal proceedings for lack of corpus delicti. The police officers denied any ill-treatment of the applicant. The applicant’s cellmates gave conflicting statements as to whether the applicant had complained of ill-treatment and whether he had had any injuries at the material time. It was also noted that information about the applicant’s state of health upon his arrival at the SIZO was unavailable, as the relevant documentation had been destroyed after the expiry of the time-limit for its storage. Furthermore, there had been no records kept as to who had shared cells with the applicant in the SIZO and therefore those individuals could not be identified. The prosecutor concluded that there was no evidence that the applicant had been ill-treated or had suffered any injuries at that time. The applicant did not challenge that decision.